10 Most Popular Pet Names and What They Mean

Find out which pet names top the nation's hot list

Pet names typically are signs of endearment and affection, no matter if they are given to a human or a furry creature. Bow Wow Meow, a web site that creates identification tags for pets, compiled a list of the 10 most popular pet names in its client database.

10. Kitty The short form for Katherine, Kitty means "pure" in Greek. When talking specifically about cats, kitty comes from the French word "chaton," another form of "chat," which means cat. As pet names go, it's one of the most straightforward.

9. Sam This English name does double duty as the short form for Samantha, which is Aramaic for "listener," or Samuel, a Hebrew term that means "His name is God."

8. Bear This one's pretty obvious, referring to a dog or cat that's large in size, has a grumpy personality, or both. The name is considered American slang for any creature, human or otherwise, that exhibits bear-like tendencies.

7. Maggie A Greek word meaning "pearl," Maggie can be an affectionate pet name for a puppy or kitten. For little girls, it also is the short version of the more formal Margaret.

6. Smokey Another one that is kind of obvious, Smokey would be a good name for a dark gray kitten or a dog that disappears like a wisp of smoke the first time the word "bath" is mentioned.

5. Buddy English for "messenger," it would be great if you could train a dog named Buddy to retrieve the mail and newspaper on a regular basis. In American slang, it also is an affectionate term for a close friend.

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4. Tiger An American term for powerful, Tiger would be a great name for a striped kitten or one with a slightly aggressive personality.

3. Jake In Hebrew, Jake means "held by the heel," which is appropriate since you sometimes have to tell your dog to heel.

2. Tigger The creation of author A. A. Milne, Tigger is one of Winnie the Pooh's more unusual friends. In the cartoons, Tigger says that his head is made of rubber and his bottom is made of a spring, making him a bouncy character indeed, just like a kitten.

1. Max In German, Max means "great", which can refer to either a large dog or a favorite pet. For females, it also serves as the short form for Maxine, a Latin name that means "Little Maximus." If you named your dog Maxwell, that name means "Maccus' stream."

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